


The Popularity of Mr. Pickle

by Scandalmuss



Category: Kingsman (Movies)
Genre: Children's Author AU, M/M, Meet-Cute, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-06
Updated: 2018-04-06
Packaged: 2019-04-19 08:41:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14233530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scandalmuss/pseuds/Scandalmuss
Summary: Eggsy Unwin loves reading to his little sister and he also loves that she loves his old books. But when they get a chance to meet the formerly retired author, little do they know that their lives will never be the same.





	The Popularity of Mr. Pickle

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AnnaofAza](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnnaofAza/gifts).



> I'm pretty sure the idea for this sprang from a twitter conversation and it was just too fluffy and I couldn't resist.

“And so, Mr. Pickle, after having had  _ such _ a long day, decided a nap was in order. He picked up his ball and got nice and cosy-wosy on his bed and fell faaaaast asleep, dreaming about what big adventure he’d have next.” Eggsy shut the book softly and smiled at his younger sister, Daisy. She was all snuggled up under the covers and doing a poor job of looking asleep. He leaned down till his nose touched her nose. “I can tell you’re still awake, Flower,” he whispered.

“No, I’m aseep.” To her credit, her eyes stayed closed, but it was her mouth that was struggling not to smile. 

“Nooo, you’re pretending to be asleep. Just to fool your big bruv into leaving your room so you can play.” He kissed her forehead, “It’s night time, Dais. You gotta go to bed just like Mr. Pickle did, so you can have a grand adventure tomorrow, alright?”

One of Daisy’s eyes opened reluctantly, “An you’ll be here when I wake up?” She pouted and even at three years old, she knew what it would do to Eggsy’s will. 

Eggsy sat up and raised an eyebrow at the pout, “Now don’t you stick that lip out at me, Miss Daisy,” he warned. “You know your big bruv is just next door anytime you need him, yeah?”

“Yeah.” Daisy nodded, pulling the covers up to her chin. 

“Good girl.” Eggsy smiled and kissed her cheek. “When you wake up, we’ll have pancakes for brekkie.” 

Daisy sat up in excitement, “Like Mr. Pickle?” 

“Uhhh, sure, babe. I’ll make bone-shaped pancakes just like Mr. Pickle eats.” He started thinking of what container he could use as a squirt bottle because the last time he’d tried to make fancy pancakes, they’d turned out awful and Daisy had refused to eat them.

He wished her goodnight one more time before dragging himself out of the room, only to collapse on the living room sofa. As much as he loved reading the Mr. Pickle series to her, he had always kind of hoped she’d latch on to another series. But no matter how many different books he presented her with, she’d always go back to Mr. Pickle. It’s not that he didn’t get the appeal, hell, all the copies she had were once his. He’d loved Mr. Pickle and all the ridiculous adventures he’d gone on. But once the author retired and stopped writing the series, he’d lost interest and had moved on to other things. 

Once Daisy had picked up one of his old books, his fascination started all over again, but just from an adult perspective. He loved watching Daisy react to the stories. She was so enamoured with the little literary terrier that she’d even taken to calling J.B, Mr. Pickle; so much so that the little pug even responded to it sometimes. Even their Mum had caught herself saying Mr. Pickle instead of J.B, which caused fond aggravation for Eggsy. 

Eggsy slipped his phone out of his pocket to look at the time. 9:00pm. Daisy had pushed her bedtime much later due to the fun she had in the bath and Eggsy knew he was guilty for letting her get away with it; his Mum would’ve given him shit had she’d been home and not working a night shift at the hospital. A yawn pushed itself out of his mouth, he groaned a little and stretched his arms out, as if the tiredness could leak out of his body through them. 

It hadn't been a particular tough day at work, but as someone who assembled office furniture for a living, every day was a physical day. He’d almost missed the bus to pick up Daisy from daycare and had been very much out of breath by the time he finally got to Charlotte’s door. Luckily, it wasn't a bizarre sight for Daisy’s carer and she’d just smiled and called out Daisy's name. Daisy had recounted the entire story of Mr. Pickle Takes the Bus, the entire ride home. 

_ Mr. Pickle. _ “Oh shit!” Eggsy jumped up and wandered into the kitchen in search of a makeshift squeeze bottle. He didn't work tomorrow and planned on making a whole day of it with his sister.

 

\-----

  
  


The bone pancakes had been a surprising success and after much deliberating about what to wear for their shopping trip, both Eggsy and Daisy were finally downtown and walking hand in hand, looking in all the shop windows.

Eggsy had been not-so-subtly checking out a bloke who was also not-so-subtly checking him out, too, when Daisy pulled on his sleeve. 

“Eggsy!!! It's Mr.Pickle!” 

Eggsy reluctantly broke eye contact and turned around to see what she was seeing. A quick glance at the poster in the window showed a J.B look-alike. “Dais, no, that's-” He stopped and actually looked at the poster. It  _ was _ Mr. Pickle, and he was with a pug that looked just like J.B!

 

_ Mr. Pickle Makes a Friend  _

_ 30th Anniversary of the Mr. Pickle series _

_ Special reading with author H. Hart on May 12th. _

 

Eggsy stared at the poster with his jaw hung open. They could meet the author! Eggsy had all but memorized H.Hart’s biography on the back of every Mr. Pickle book:

 

_H.Hart and Mr.Pickle live in London and_ _they enjoy quiet adventures and a nice cuppa tea when the mood is just right._

 

He’d always kind of imagined a kindly old man, dressed in a sweater vest and slippers, smelling faintly of tea and old books. Eggsy smiled at the memory. He bent down to face Daisy. “Dais, they’re making a new Mr. Pickle book! And Mr. Hart is gonna be here to read it!”

Daisy practically vibrated out of her skin, “Is it now?! Can we go?!” She started tugging on his sleeve to get him into the bookshop. 

“Daisy!” he laughed, “It’s not till the weekend, there’s like four sleeps before then.”

“Four sleeps?” She pouted. “That’s forever away!” 

Eggsy shook his head, “No, it’ll go super fast, I promise.”

 

\-----

 

Much to Eggsy’s surprise, the time did go quite fast and before they knew it, they were sitting on the plush carpeted floor of the bookstore with an adorable drawing of J.B on Daisy’s lap. For Eggsy, it had felt like ages since he was sat cross-legged on the floor, waiting to be read a story. He looked around at the surprisingly small crowd; he’d hoped there would be more people excited about the newest book, but it  _ was _ a thirty year old series about an adventurous puppy. He shrugged and looked forward again at the dusty rose-coloured armchair that awaited H. Hart. 

Eggsy suddenly had the thought that he might cry upon seeing one of his favourite childhood authors; so many emotions were bubbling to the surface and he felt foolish but then Daisy wiggled in his lap and he knew he wasn’t the only Unwin who might cry that day. He’d be strong for her.

A bookstore employee came over and started to talk about how everyone needed to use their inside voices and could they clap their hands for Mr. Hart, and then Eggsy felt all the air leave his lungs as he watched H. Hart walk out, smile bashfully and wave to his small audience.

Hart was literally  _ nothing _ like Eggsy had imagined over the years. First of all, he’d misjudged the man’s age by  _ decades _ , Hart was easily early fifties and was incredibly good looking, what with his elegantly styled hair, expensive looking suit ( _ a suit? Really? Christ, I was far off _ ) and his dark, thick-rimmed glasses. He was a breath-stealing vision.

The stupidest smile pasted itself onto Eggsy’s face and he knew he’d regret it, but every time he closed his mouth to try a normal smile, the goony, ridiculous one took its place. He looked down as Daisy looked up at him and her smile matched his completely. Both Unwin children were obviously half in love with Mr. Hart already. 

Mr. Hart sat down and crossed his leg across his knee and smiled warmly at everyone, his smile, at odds with how stiff and proper he looked, was still utterly charming. “I’d like to thank each and every one of you for coming this afternoon. This is quite a lovely turn out for such an old man and his stories.” He laughed with the other adults in the audience. “Now, I think it’s very important for you to know that my name is Harry and I’m looking forward to meeting all of you afterwards. Sadly, Mr. Pickle couldn’t be here with me today-” he paused for the aww’s from the kids-”but please know that he was so happy to learn that people still wanted to hear his stories!”

Eggsy was certain that there was no way the original Mr. Pickle was still alive and he figured even if he was, having an older dog around so many young children might not be the best idea anyways. Besides, Eggsy wasn't about to deny Harry Hart a moment in the spotlight. 

Harry settled further into his chair and lifted the new book up to show everyone. After all the excited whispering, he grinned and opened it up and began to read. His deep voice had everyone entranced right from the beginning to the end, even when he did an absurdly posh sounding accent for Mr. Pickle and a slightly deeper accent for the new pug. Daisy laughed and laughed at some of the silly drawings and Eggsy definitely did  _ not _ blush every time Harry made eye contact. Which kind of seemed like it happened often. But he obviously hadn't been counting.  _ Five times.  _

Afterwards, everyone clapped for Harry and he took it all in stride, smiling and thanking everyone for coming. A book store attendant came up to him and guided back to a table that was set up for a book signing. Eggsy stood up and shook out his legs as Daisy hugged her drawing of J.B  tightly. He made to move into the line that was forming, but Daisy stood still. He crouched down to get to her eye level, “Dais, what's the problem? Don't you want to show Mr.Hart your picture?” Daisy shook her head and mumbled something unintelligible. Eggsy took a deep breath and steered her towards a chair. She sat down and stared at her drawing. “Dais?”

“I wanna wait.”

“Wait? For what, babe?”

“I wanna wait till everyone is done.”

“Ohhhh.” Eggsy smiled. “We can wait, love. We’ll be the last ones.”

A small smile burst onto Daisy's face and she nodded. And so they waited, and waited and when there were only a few people left in the line, Eggsy nudged her into the line. He kept a hand on her shoulder as if she needed grounding, but he found himself needing to centre himself as they waited to meet Harry Hart. He’d never met a celebrity before, even though he was certain Hart would be considered a low level celebrity, it didn't matter. Harry Hart was someone Eggsy had essentially adored for years and he was worried he’d just word vomit as soon as he came face to face with the man.

Before Eggsy felt ready, they were staring at Harry Hart’s beautiful face, which smiled at the both of them. 

Harry’s nodded at Daisy, “I was wondering where you’d gotten to! I was hoping you'd show me your lovely drawing.” 

Daisy, much like Eggsy stood stock still. Harry chuckled and looked up at Eggsy, “Perhaps your...daddy...can tell me about it?”

That snapped Eggsy out of his trance and he shook his head. “No, I'm big-uh, I'm her big brother.” He couldn't help but notice how Harry's smile got a bit wider, but he refused to acknowledge how it made his insides flutter.

“Well now, shall your big brother tell me about your picture?”

Daisy shook her head and held up the picture a little ways from her chest. Harry appeared to fight the urge to coo at Daisy. He got up instead and made his way around the table and crouched down in front of her. “Did you draw this lovely puppy?”

“It's my J.B.” She mumbled.

“J.B?” Harry raised an eyebrow.

“Uhhh, a pup named Jake Bauer?” Eggsy shuffled awkwardly.

“Ah! Well, he must be such a brave puppy then.”

Daisy nodded, “He's a pug, like in the story!” She suddenly opened up and started to tell Harry all about J.B.

Eggsy smiled at them both but felt a little nervous too, because he had no idea what was an appropriate amount of time to talk to someone like Harry; Daisy just kept talking and Harry just kept asking her questions. He didn't seem irritated at all but Eggsy still didn't want to intrude too much. When Daisy grabbed a book off the table to flip through the pages to find something, Harry carefully stood up and smiled at Eggsy. Eggsy felt himself flush. “Thanks for being so great with her. I Uh, am a fan too, I guess?” He shrugged. “All the books she has used to be mine.” 

Harry frowned slightly, “Well now you're just making me feel old,” he teased.

“No! That's not-” Eggsy stuttered.

“I'm kidding.” Harry grinned. “I started writing when I was quite young. I so rarely meet adults who were fans of the series. Trust me, I'm quite happy to have made your acquaintance.” 

A silence settled between them and Eggsy’s heart raced when Harry’s eyes briefly drifted down to his mouth. He felt his cheeks heat up and he quickly looked away before he said something stupid.  _ Like your name? Why didn’t you introduce yourself?! _

Harry’s gaze drifted away when Daisy tugged at his jacket sleeve. He bent down to see what she what she wanted to point out. 

Eggsy took the reprieve as the blessing it was and took a deep breath. If Harry wasn't flirting, Eggsy looked like an idiot. But...if Harry  _ was _ flirting, well, that seemed like a lot to unpack. Daisy’s telltale stalling “Um’s" caught his attention and he placed a hand on her shoulder again. “Dais, we should let Mr. Hart go home, yeah?” Daisy didn't even look at him but Eggsy could tell the power of her pout was directed at Harry based on the panicked look on Harry's face. “Now Flower, Mr. Hart has been very nice and chatted to us for awhile  but I'm sure he's got to get back to Mr. Pickle, yeah?” Eggsy looked up to make sure Harry agreed with him.

“Oh! Erm, yes, I'm afraid.” Harry thankfully caught on. He bent down again to face Daisy. “Would you let me have your lovely drawing? I think I'd very much like to show it to Mr. Pickle.” 

Daisy gasped, “Really?” When Harry nodded, she all but shoved the paper into his hands.

Harry laughed and gave her his most sincere thank you and he stood up to face Eggsy. “It was an absolute delight to meet you both.” He reached out and shook Eggsy’s hand and then shook Daisy’s as well. 

The moment they were out of the shop, Daisy couldn’t stop talking about her experience and Eggsy couldn’t stop thinking about Harry. 

  
  


\----

 

“Mum? Are you still okay to pick up Dais?” Eggsy shouldered his phone against his ear. They’d suddenly been asked to do overtime and Eggsy was not about to say no to that kind of paycheque. 

“Of course, babe. Are you not gonna be home?”

“Naw, they asked us to put in some posh desks tonight and it’ll be overtime and I ain’t saying no to that.”

His mum chuckled, “You’re just saving up to buy her something ridiculous, aren’t you?”

“What if I wanted to buy both of you something ridiculous?”

“Eggsy,” his mum started with a concerned tone, “You don’t need to buy me anything, yeah? Why don’t you spend it on yourself? Maybe get something nice to go out on dates with? Are you and-” she paused, making sure to not say his name and Eggsy knew it was because she’d hated him with every fiber of her being.

-“David? No, Mum, we’re not together anymore.” Eggsy rolled his eyes fondly. “You didn’t even like him anyways. You should be happy we’re not together anymore.”

“Trust me, love, I  _ am _ . But I still think you deserve to get something nice for yourself.”

He brushed off her concern with a “maybe it  _ is _ something for me too” and she thankfully let it go. He hadn’t told her about the trip to Brighton that he’d been saving up for. They hadn’t been away on holiday probably well before Daisy was born and he really wanted to see his sister’s reaction to the train portion of the trip.

Eggsy finished talking to his mum and hauled himself into the delivery truck. “Where we off to?” he asked, as Tony pulled himself into the driver’s seat. 

“Some publishing house on Essex road. They need these posh tables set up tonight cause I guess they got a big meeting tomorrow or something.”

“How many?”

Tony held up four fingers as he pressed on the brakes. “Only four. It won’t take us long cause it’s you an me, eh?” He laughed, holding his fist out for a fist bump.

Eggsy bumped his fist, “Damn straight!” He smiled to himself. They weren’t far from Essex road and by the sounds of it, the job wasn’t going to take them as long as he’d originally thought. He might actually get to make it home in time for dinner.

 

\-----

 

Tony hadn’t been kidding when he said it wouldn’t take them long; once they hauled each box into the office, it took them maybe twenty minutes per desk. They bumped fists after finishing the last one and Tony went to put their tools back in the truck and Eggsy sought out the office manager who was waiting around for them, back in the main room. When he couldn’t find her, he wandered around until he heard voices coming from a meeting room. 

He hated to interrupt a meeting but he also wanted to get the fuck home. Eggsy knocked gently on the door and it opened immediately, only to leave him looking up at the current object of his affections, Harry Hart. He felt his cheeks flush instantly but before he could get tongue-tied, someone else in the meeting room piped up with an, “Oh! You’re done!” And then Harry was being gently moved out of the way and the office manager bounced in front of Harry, grinning at Eggsy. “I can’t believe how quickly you guys worked! I thought I’d be here for ages yet.” She signed the invoice on Eggsy’s clipboard and he tore off her copy. 

“We uh, we work fast.”  _ Fuck, you sound like a tit.  _ Eggsy kept looking up at Harry, barely stealing glances as the man had clearly been already looking at him, with a smirk on his face. “Uh, everything is set up, so we’ll be out of your hair.” He took an exaggerated step back and all but speed walked down the hallway. OF course he’d run into Harry at a random publishing house. Of fucking course. Then the constipated words that came out of his mouth?  _ Jesus _ , he was an absolute disaster. Eggsy pressed the elevator button rapidly, knowing full well it did dick all to bring the elevator faster. What could he have even said to Harry? _ “Hey, I know you write kids books but ever fancy a go in the back of a moving van?” _ Unfucking likely. He groaned in relief when the  _ ding _ sounded from the elevator; he walked right in, blindly hit the button for the basement and stood with his back to the doors, eyes closed, forehead smudging the mirrored wall. 

The telltale steps of someone running to avoid missing the elevator came from behind him and he begrudgingly turned around as to not look like a twat to some stranger. Before he opened his eyes, he let his heart flutter at the thought of Harry running after him, but after that idiotic display back in the meeting room, Harry was probably staying an extra ten minutes to avoid running into him. The elevator doors closed and Eggsy finally lifted up his head and opened his eyes; for the second time that day, he was surprised to be in front of Harry Hart. 

Harry’s smirk was still on his face. It might have been a little contagious too, as Eggsy struggled not to smile back at him. He rubbed a hand over his face and laughed, “I can’t believe you just saw that.”

Harry chuckled, “Saw what? Saw a normally intelligent sounding young man lose all hopes of ever being taken seriously by an office manager? Can’t say I saw that.” 

“Oh, give over.” Eggsy rolled his eyes affectionately. “That is absolutely what you saw.”

“Can I tell you what I think I saw?” Harry tucked his overcoat over his arm and clasped his hands together. 

Eggsy’s eyes widened.  _ This is it. He’s seen through your idiot crush.  _ But he shrugged, hoping he didn’t look worried. 

“I think I saw a very handsome, young man, get flustered upon seeing someone he had hoped would ask him to dinner this very evening.”

Just like that, all the blood in Eggsy’s body rushed to his face. “Is- is that what happened? Because I’m very okay with your version.” He couldn’t stop the smile that engulfed his whole face. 

Harry nodded. “I was hoping I hadn’t read you wrong and I’m delighted to know that my gamble paid off.” He laughed, “Honestly, on my way down that hallway, I was already planning my pity party if it turned out that I was wrong about you. Hint: it involved a decent amount of scotch and takeaway.”

“The evening could still involve both of those things…” Eggsy bit his lip. To think that someone like Harry was set for rejection just blew Eggsy’s mind. He couldn’t imagine a scenario where someone would say no to him, because Eggsy sure as hell wasn’t going to say no. If Harry wanted a night in with fancy drinks and takeaway, Eggsy was not about to complain; some of his best snog sessions were after such evenings. Harry’s derisive scoff caught his attention. 

“Don’t be ridiculous! I haven’t see you in weeks and I think you ought to be properly wined and dined.” Harry straightened his already straight tie and huffed out a breath. “Besides, drinks and takeaway is more of a third date type of thing. Not that I go on many dates- but, that’s besides the point.” He looked adorably flustered and Eggsy took the opportunity to ease his nerves. 

“Harry, I’m pretty much a safe bet.”

Harry laughed, “A safe bet, eh?” 

“Almost embarrassingly so.”

The elevator doors opened with a quiet  _ ding _ . Harry seemed quite panicked all of a sudden. “Are you done work, or do you have more things to do?” Harry looked at his watch and then glanced up at Eggsy, nervously. “I swear I’m not trying to pressure you into a date, and it’s not like our conversation has to stop once we’re out of the elevator-” He took a deep breath, clearly trying to stop himself from overreacting. -”Let’s try again…?” But then Harry gasped and then gawped like a trout.

“Are you alright?” Eggsy rested his hand on Harry’s arm. It’s not like Harry was talking himself out of it, right? Eggsy guided Harry off the elevator before it started to beep in annoyance. 

Harry turned to face Eggsy head on. His voice took on an almost dreamy quality, “I was about to ask you to dinner and I had the crushingly idiotic realization that I don’t even know your name.” 

Eggsy burst out laughing, much to Harry’s visible chagrin. He waved off Harry’s attempts at salvaging his dignity. “It’s on me as much as it’s on you, bruv.” Eggsy straightened up and smiled widely at Harry. “Pretty sure I was so caught up trying  _ not _ to get caught staring at you, that giving you my name was  _ not _ even possible.”

“And I just kept referring to you as Daisy’s brother in my head and that seemed to be enough for the time being and just...oh my god, I swear I’m more with it than this.”

“I have no doubt, Harry.” Eggsy grinned. “And before we get too far into plan making, my name is Eggsy.” He held out his hand and Harry didn’t even wait before he shook it heartily. Harry’s grip was firm and Eggsy  _ definitely  _ let his brain wander for all of a few seconds.

So they made plans; Eggsy wanted a shower before the date and Harry also wanted the opportunity to freshen up before dinner, they discussed restaurants and settled on a small Italian place that happened to be near enough to Eggsy’s flat that he could walk there. 

Dinner was surprisingly effortless; Eggsy was used to having first dates be awkward; the whole getting to know someone without it A: sounding like a job interview or B: Like you’d creeped them on Facebook. He caught himself smiling for no obvious reason more than once and had to look away with flushed cheeks when he noticed Harry doing the exact same thing. 

Eggsy swore up and down that he had no idea that it was going to rain that night and that he wasn’t aiming to get a lift home from Harry, but when the opportunity arose, he said  _ yes, please _ and let butterflies loose in his stomach. He told Harry it wasn’t necessary to walk him to his door in the pouring rain, but Harry had been determined and whipped out an umbrella, jogged to Eggsy’s side and escorted him up to his door. 

They stared and smiled at each other for all of a minute before Eggsy just said “Piss it” and went in for the kiss. Harry laughed into the kiss at first but then he cupped Eggsy’s cheek with his free hand and deepened the kiss. Eggsy definitely lost track after that.

When they finally managed to pull away from each other, Eggsy just stared at Harry’s chest instead of making eye contact. He knew once he got inside, that his mum would grill him for details because she didn’t get a chance to when he was rushing around, getting ready. He also knew that he’d no doubt be calling Harry tomorrow with an invite to Sunday night dinner from his mum and a thousand questions from Daisy, because he’d have to prepare her for Harry’s visit lest she freak out when her favourite author showed up for dinner.  

“Eggsy?”

Eggsy looked up at and felt his heart melt at Harry’s concerned expression. “Sorry, mind’s a bit all over the place.” 

Harry chuckled, “Well, I had hopes that I was at least a decent kisser, granted it’s been a few years...”

“No! No, that’s not it!” He rushed out, “It just occurred to me that my mum is probably waiting in the living room to grill me about our date and then she’s gonna want to meet you, which means I need to prepare Daisy so she doesn’t lose her shit when you show up.” Eggsy grinned, “Because you  _ know _ she will. She’ll probably have an insane amount of drawings for you and-”

-”And I’ll treasure each one.” Harry cupped his cheek again. “It’s been awhile since I’ve had the joy of spending proper time with a young fan.”

“Harry, if you give in early, she’s gonna make you read all the books to her.”

“I have a feeling you are also equally weak?”

Eggsy nodded while toying with the buttons on Harry’s coat. “Absolutely. Can’t be trusted to say no.” He stopped fiddling with the buttons and leaned into Harry’s hand. The entire evening had been amazing, Eggsy was seconds away from a proper swoon and just wanted to keep snogging Harry in the rain. 

Unfortunately, at that exact moment, the door opened a few inches and Michelle poked her head around it. “How much longer are you gonna make me wait, Eggs?” She tried to look put upon, but her smile kept poking through.

Eggsy was in the midst of groaning out a, “Muuuuum!” when Harry stuck out his hand and introduced himself to Michelle. A mortified squawk slipped out of his mouth when Michelle actually  _ giggled _ and blushed at Harry’s gentleman-ness. “Oh my god, Mum!” He gently pushed Harry away from his mum and turned to face him. “I’ll call you later okay?” He stood up on tiptoes and kissed Harry’s cheek. 

“You’ll come for dinner sometime, yeah?” Michelle called over Eggsy’s shoulder. 

Thankfully, Harry just laughed at her overeagerness. “Yes, of course-”

Whatever else he had to say was cut off by Eggsy shouldering his mum back through the door and shoving it closed. He could still hear Harry’s laughter and as much as that was a good thing, he still spun around and glared at his mum, “Why were you so embarrassing?! It was only our first date!”

Michelle smirked, “Ooo but he  _ is _ handsome isn’t he?” 

“Oh my god, can you focus?”

“It has been a long, long,  _ long _ time since you’ve been out on a date.” She shrugged. “Pardon me for being excited about my only son dating such a gorgeous man. Bit older than I thought he’d be but it’s no matter.” Michelle continued talking to herself and wandered away from Eggsy, heading into the kitchen. “Cuppa?” She eventually called out.

Eggsy sighed loudly but fondly, “Yes, please, mum.”

 

\-----

 

Sunday dinner went well, his mum managed to reign in her curiosity about Harry (Eggsy made her promise no more than five serious questions) and Daisy chose only two drawings to give to Harry. She had been uncharacteristically shy at first, but the moment Harry met J.B, she nearly didn't stop talking.

Harry had offered to do the dishes afterwards, but Michelle shook her head and gestured to her daughter. “I think if you're willing, someone would love a story.”

And that's how Eggsy found them later on; Daisy snuggled up in bed and Harry, sitting down next to her wee bed, reading   _ Mr. Pickle Makes a Friend _ . 

Eggsy shut the door behind him softly and just stood there, letting Harry's voice wash over him and allowing his heart to melt at how adorable it was.

Daisy's genuinely sleepy voice interrupted Harry's storytelling, “Are you gonna be here when I wake up?” Then she yawned and snuggled even closer to her stuffed puppy.

Harry chuckled softly, “I won't be here when you wake up, sweetheart, but you will see me again.”

“Promise?” she yawned again.

Harry turned to look at Eggsy and he smiled warmly. “Absolutely. I'm already looking forward to it.”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!


End file.
